Music breaking barriers

Om Mani – Apology (2009)

France has got some really nice metal, and if you don’t own any album coming from this very country, you now have the chance to, because this one is a killer!

Apology may not be quite metal as an album’s title, but you should know that “Kill’Em All” is just so ’83. So fuck you. Om Mani conveys messages coming from Buddhism, from what I can understand, as the band’s name is taken from a popular Sanskrit mantra; Om mani padme hum. This might sound kinda new wave, but it might not be just new wave-ish, just some fucking great spiritual contemplative metal, to which you could add the qualities progressive, ambient, experimental, and violent (that’s antithetical isn’t it?).

I have to say that I have the singer, Sam, in respect. More than just singing, this dude fucking screams his guts, and holy fuck he’s doing the harmonic singing thing!1!!! You can hear this exploit on “Bad Seed” around 2:00, for example. I wonder if he’s been trained in a Tibetan monastery, man this is really impressive!

Each song on the album has its own personality and atmosphere, thanks to the amazing musicians and singer of Om Mani. The bassist can slap, the guitarist can riff, and the drummer sure can beat! Makes sense! There’s even some djenty passages in some of the songs, reminiscent of older Meshuggah. Polyrhythmics also play a prominent role in Om Mani’s sound, and that can be no other thing than a quality.

The quality is great, and every instrument is distinct and hearable in the mix, great production.

The only bad thing about this is that you won’t get to hear anything new from them any time soon. They’re now Om Mani no more, and that really sucks in my opinion, but you can bet I’ll stay aware of those guys’ new bands and projects!